Carrying these babies for my brother

Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds.

Photos:Carrying a baby for my brother

Surrogate Sisters – James and Natalie Lucich and their son, Hunter, support surrogate mother Tiffany Burke as she struggles with nausea and the difficulties of pregnancy.

Hide Caption

1 of 12

Photos:Carrying a baby for my brother

Surrogate Sisters – James and Natalie's embryos are 5 days old in this photo, posted on the family's blog on April 9.

Hide Caption

2 of 12

Photos:Carrying a baby for my brother

Surrogate Sisters – Burke shows off her dramatic weight change due to the fertility hormones. "This photo on the left is my body before medications at 150 lbs, and then second photo was taken the day of the second transfer, just a few weeks ago at around 180 lbs (give or take an embryo)," she wrote on the blog.

Hide Caption

3 of 12

Photos:Carrying a baby for my brother

Surrogate Sisters – Burke tears up as she gets the news that the embryos have stuck: She's pregnant!

Surrogate Sisters – The ultrasound at 8 weeks shows the Luciches' twins. "Each time I lose my lunch, or as my grandpa used to say, toss my cookies, I know those babies are growing nice and strong inside of me," Burke wrote on the blog.

Hide Caption

6 of 12

Photos:Carrying a baby for my brother

Surrogate Sisters – Burke and Lucich goof off at a doctor's checkup after finding out they're having twins.

Hide Caption

7 of 12

Photos:Carrying a baby for my brother

Surrogate Sisters – Burke and the Luciches show off photos of the babies.

Hide Caption

8 of 12

Photos:Carrying a baby for my brother

Surrogate Sisters – The family shares a laugh after the big reveal. "Laughing so hard we were crying over something, can't remember, probably my hair," Natalie Lucich joked on the blog.

JUST WATCHED

Modern family strained by surrogacy

MUST WATCH

About two hours south of Bellingham, Natalie Lucich lives with her husband, James. James is Tiffany Burke's brother.

Natalie and James met on a blind date, fell in love and got married in 2008.

Lucich got pregnant within the first month of trying. She had an easy pregnancy, and she was thrilled when her son Hunter was born in 2010.

"He was the perfect mix of both of us," she recalls on her family's blog, which they've been using to share their journey. "Those huge eyes melted my heart."

After nurses whisked Hunter away to clean him up and check his vitals, a doctor began stitching Natalie up.

But an hour and three packs of thread later, she was still bleeding. Concerned, the doctor pushed on Lucich's uterus. It wouldn't contract. The pain was unbearable. She blacked out. She was losing blood quickly.

"I prayed two things before they began," she wrote. "I prayed that I would make it through safely for my husband and my son and that they would put me under because the pain was so horrible I didn't think I could handle any more."

James and her dad were by Lucich's side when she woke up after surgery. Unable to talk because she still had a breathing tube, she scribbled a note.

"Were you scared?" she asked. "Did they take my uterus?"

James told her the bad news. To save her life, doctors removed it. Lucich wrote another note. "It's OK. We can adopt."

It took a week for the news to set in. Lucich could have no more children naturally. Her dream had always been to have three. She was crushed.

A few days later, Burke headed over to the Luciches' house to take pictures of the new family. Lucich confided how conflicted she felt: She was grateful for Hunter but also mourning the loss of the children she would never have.

Lucich mentioned to Burke that she still had her eggs. She and James were considering using a gestational surrogate. An embryo, created in a Petri dish from Natalie's egg and James' sperm, would be implanted in the surrogate mother. None of the surrogate's DNA is involved.

"I was pissed!" Burke recalled. She was worried: What if the surrogate drank or smoked or did something to harm herself? She didn't want the Luciches to take that chance.

Experts say gestational surrogacy is growing slowly and steadily. According to the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technologies, 1,448 babies were reported conceived via gestational surrogacy in 2010 and carried to full term. There are no statistics on relationships between carriers and the intended parents.

Even though they were family, both couples had to hire attorneys and negotiate a contract that address a wide range of questions, from who would pay for Burke's doctors visits (the Luciches) to the legal process for James and Natalie to take custody of the child. In Washington state, it is illegal to pay for a surrogate's services.

Both couples also had to undergo a psychological evaluation to make sure they were prepared emotionally to go through the process. It took eight months from the time they decided to do it until the first embryos were implanted.

Finally, in January, Natalie's eggs were mixed with James' sperm. Then two embryos were implanted in Burke. That round didn't take. The next one did. Both couples were elated.

"I could not be more honored or more excited to be able to carry their child," Burke wrote in the family's blog. "I have also found new strength and support from my amazing husband, Sean. I know I could not do this without him. My love for him grows more and more each day."

Burke and James Lucich were both adopted at birth, and are not related by blood to each other. Burke wrote on her website that she would have served as a surrogate for a biological brother too.

"When the nurse first started the scan, she knew right away there were two sacs. We were able to see the little heart beats of each one and we were all instantly crying," Burke wrote on the blog. An ultrasound showed that she was carrying two boys.

"They always say God has a greater plan than you could ever imagine ... well, He has far surpassed that. James and I couldn't be happier," Lucich added.

It was around the same time that some unexpected realities set in. Burke started getting sick and was exhausted all the time. That made it hard for her to work. It also meant the majority of the housework, cooking and child care ended up falling to Sean, an aspiring filmmaker.

Sean Burke is quick to point out that the Luciches and others help as they can but admits it's still difficult.

"It's been hard; I've been quite stressed out through this process," Sean Burke said. It's also been a strain on his budding career. "My career is just starting to kick off, and I've had to slow down a bit on that, and that's been tough."

Burke also feels guilty that she's missing this time with her boys. Her 7-year-old son, Holland, has especially been affected.

"I think sometimes that I want to help her a little bit. ... I just don't want her to be sick, really," he said.

"I feel like a human about two to four hours a day," she said. On a recent afternoon, Burke felt well enough to take her sons clothes shopping and, as a special treat, to Toys R Us to pick out a toy and then out to dinner.

The babies are due in December.

"I'm excited for the boys to be here, to see what they're like and for them to be with James and Natalie ... but in a selfish way, I am also looking forward to being done," she said.

Still, she has no regrets.

"These babies wouldn't exist if it weren't for this tough decision. There are a lot of new challenges I wasn't aware of, but I kind of think that's life, too. You kind of sign up for some things, and you hope you're strong enough to handle it, and hopefully you are. And hopefully, I am."